


Morning After

by foxmulder_whereartthou



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Found Family, Gen, gOd this took forever but im so proud, hope yall like it :), my first sonic fic!! im excited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:34:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23707723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmulder_whereartthou/pseuds/foxmulder_whereartthou
Summary: Tom worries about Sonic after they part ways for the night. His, admittedly over the top, expectations are quickly dashed in the morning after.This is my first work in this fandom, even though I've scoured the AO3 tag religiously, so sorry of any of the characters seem ooc!! :)
Relationships: Maddie Wachowski/Tom Wachowski
Comments: 9
Kudos: 112





	Morning After

After the drama of the last few days, Tom knew he should be grateful to get into his own, warm bed to finally sleep off the lingering excitement. However, the second he’d settled down, head resting on his own, soft bed instead of the rock the motel called a pillow, he snapped awake. Something within him knew he wasn’t going to get any meaningful sleep tonight, and the reason why immediately flashed into his mind.    
  
It was the kid. 

Well, not a human child, more so an alien hedgehog - but a kid nonetheless. A kid out there, alone in the wilderness, alone with Crazy Carl’s bear traps and creatures of the night. Memories of offhand comments along their journey - living in a cave, being isolated, excluded from their comfortable lives while Sonic could only look on longingly, watching all the little league players go home with their parents to the safe haven of a warm home every night, while he himself only had this... cave. Although Sonic spoke of it fondly, Tom couldn’t help but freeze at the thought. The idea of being detached, assumedly for years upon years - it must’ve taken a toll on him. It had to. Nobody got out of something like that unscathed.    
  
Admittedly, in hindsight it was a bit of a stretch, but lying there in the dark while Maddie curled up against him, reminding him of all the wonderful things he’d taken for granted, Tom imagined a small, dark hole in the ground. Barely big enough to fit him and Maddie, it would be at the base of a thick tree trunk, the roots seeping through the entrance. When it rained, he’d be without a home, water filling up the tiny space- and Tom couldn’t think anymore. Yes, it was a nightmare of his own creation, but the more he thought about it, the more the vivid image of a small boy living in a soaking, rotten hole in the ground lingered in his mind’s eye, the more plausible it felt.    
  
These horrific, worry-driven visions bouncing around in his hollow skull, his brain melted from the adventure it felt like he’d just gotten home from, he stumbled into a restless, dreamless sleep.   
  


* * *

  
Wakefulness crashed through Tom like a bolt of lightning, snapping him awake and he started - sitting half up already, breathing hard like he’d run a marathon. Maddie’s already downstairs, her half of the bed made neatly, and a cup of what must be steadily cooling coffee on the bedside table along with a note attached which says;  _ if this gets cold before you wake up, come downstairs and i’ll make you another. see you later, sleepyhead _ , with a little heart and a doodle of Tom passed out on the floor. Taking the coffee in one hand, he smiles as he takes a small sip - only to instantly sputter it back out. The sun shines through the curtains. The coffee’s gone cold.   
  


They exchange grins as Tom all but completely falls down the stairs and into the kitchen. Maddie’s there, waiting with a kind hand and a frying pan full of bacon, and they lean into a comfortable silence, chewing thoughtfully on their breakfast. Breaking the barriers built around them, it’s Maddie who speaks up first;   
“Where do you think he is?” 

Tom hesitates, before replying, “I don’t know. We should look for him.” He swallows, mostly due to nervousness, the franticity of last night coming back to him, before continuing. “I’m worried. We should’ve made him stay here for the night.”   
Maddie frowns, staring a hole through the bottom of her empty mug. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m sure he’s fine, but-”   
  
She gets cut off by a sudden, rapid knock on the door. They hadn’t seen or heard anyone approach the house, so it’s easy to guess who must be there. 

Tom swings open the door, a looming presence in the doorway, and a short blur of blue materialises on the step.    
  
“Morning!” piped up the figure, and all doubts left Tom’s mind. (Most of them, anyway.)   
“Hey, kiddo, what’s up?” Maddie asks, craning her neck to see out the door from the table.   
  
Knowing who it was doesn’t stop the arrival from being a pleasant surprise.  
  


* * *

  
As the morning wears on through lunchtime and into the afternoon, the three of them get to know each other through games and stories, wandering around the neighbourhood, until Sonic gets the bright idea to take them to visit his cave.    
  
Tom, who’d been enjoying himself until exactly that second, instantly stops dead in his tracks. He knows what he imagined last night was probably - no, definitely - wildly unrealistic, but he can’t help worrying. Every step they take leading them further into the woods, every tug of Sonic’s gloved hands on his own hand or his leg, it just makes him sweat more.   
  


Thankfully, his wild expectations are quickly dashed when he ducks into the hollowed out cave, staring wide-eyed at all the stuff that Sonic had accumulated (stolen?) over the past god-knows how many years he’s been on Earth. Stacks and stacks of comics, a tape deck, countless other blankets and road signs and other miscellaneous nicknacks are scattered about, and Tom smiles, a quiet, private, sad smile, and whispers to Maddie as Sonic digs through his belongings, showing them his drawings and his cassette tapes.    
  
“He’s just a kid. It’s like his parents have gone out. God, Maddie-”   
  
But when he turns to face her, she shares his look of determination.   
  
“Tom, I know you’re a police officer-” she stops and yells something approvingly to Sonic, who’s currently in the process of digging through his pile of worn-through shoes.    
A glint in her eye, she turns back to him and grabs his upper arms, setting her shoulders and her gaze. “Tom. I know you’re a police officer, but we have to steal him.”   


**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed!! im guyinthe-chair on tumblr, come talk to me!! :)


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